The field of the invention pertains to ice skates. In particular, the invention pertains to a device and method for contouring and sharpening the blade of an ice skate. In the past, the fixture to hold the ice skate had an irregular bottom surface to accommodate cam rollers fixedly mounted thereunder. The cam rollers were engaged with cam templates mounted on the top surface of the table of the grinding machine. A machine of this type is described in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,332
The fixture held an ice skate first for contouring the curvature of the ice skate blade and thereafter for grinding the edges of the blade "or sharpening the skates". However, the fixture lacked stability because less than the entirety of the fixture's base plate contacted the top surface of the table. Thus, rocking of the fixture and hence inconsistent grinding or other undesirable results could be observed.
Another disadvantage was that the device for pitching was not a simple device. The device for pitching was employed for changing the curvature of the blade towards the toe of the blade.
Additionally, the fixture was used with cam templates either mounted on the top of the table or were required to be moved into place on the top of the table. Either way, the table was not available or was difficult to use when the device was not being used for the contouring step. Moreover, the cam templates took up usable space wherever they were stored. The permanently positioned top mounted cam templates allowed the build up of grinding dust in between the cam templates, thereby potentially reducing the accuracy of the grind made with the templates and necessitating frequent grinding dust removal.